What is this and how to tell if it’s on or off?

[homedad]

I recently purchased a 2018 kioti 3510 chse. The previous owner seemed to take good care of it but also is very dishonest. He installed various electrical accessories. He said that he experienced a parasitic drain which was draining the battery. So rather than solving this he installed a disconnect with no on or off markings. The tractor has always started until I left it for 3 weeks. I then had to boost it. Now I don’t know if the battery is damaged from so many deep depletions or I’m not actually disconnecting the battery when I toggle the switch. The other thing I’m confused about is why the tractor seems to start when I flip that switch in either direction. It makes a definitive click sound when I flip the switch.

 

[CADplans]

Don't worry about the previous depletions,, there is nothing short of battery replacement that you can do, anyways,,

I have a 2012 tractor, when I bought it in 2016, the battery was 100% dead, from being parked a LONG time,,
I charged the battery,, over a 6 day period, the battery still works.

As far as the load that kills the battery,, you can find it.

Disconnect one of the battery terminals, connect an incandescent 12 volt light between the cable, and the battery terminal.

If there is a current draw, the bulb will light.
If it does light, remove one fuse at a time,
When the light goes out, you have found the circuit that is drawing current.

 

[homedad]

Thanks. Any thought on that switched disconnect? I'm rather old school and always had a physical disconnect that was put between the battery and the positive cable. After I opened the circuit nothing would operate. I don't get the point of this one where it starts whether it's on or off.

 

[mrmikey]

It looks like a master switch, hard to tell from the backside tho. This is the type I'm familiar with although there are others. These ones you can tell if they're open or closed when you turn the handle, it'll take little effort to rotate it so it's open and it takes quite a bit more effort to rotate it so it's closed. I've always hooked them up thru the ground circuit although I have seen them hooked up thru the positive side. He may have the switch to disconnect a specific load not the complete tractor.
If you want to check for sure which is on or off, disconnect one of the wires (so you don't fry your multimeter) and check for continuity.

 

[ptsg]

Looks like it has some sort of remote switch to turn the disconnect On/Off or technically a big 12v relay/contactor. It feeding the coils on the relay is what drained the battery.

Try follow those two white wires and see where those end. I suspect they go to a switch somewhere.

 

[homedad]

Thanks. I think that I may simply delete that one and put a mechanical one in it's place. He told me that if I leave it closed the battery will drain. And he said that it was to prevent this from happening. As far as I can tell it does nothing except maybe a practical joke.

 

[ptsg]

Thanks. I think that I may simply delete that one and put a mechanical one in it's place. He told me that if I leave it closed the battery will drain. And he said that it was to prevent this from happening. As far as I can tell it does nothing except maybe a practical joke.

Once you find the switch to turn in on or off, it will work as intended. Same as a mechanical one but you operate it from the seat assuming the switch is somewhere in there.

 

[WranglerX]

Thanks. Any thought on that switched disconnect? I'm rather old school and always had a physical disconnect that was put between the battery and the positive cable. After I opened the circuit nothing would operate. I don't get the point of this one where it starts whether it's on or off.

A awful lot of wiring on both terminals of disconnect switch, you probable will have a problem finding parasitic drain or "control" switch until you decipher what all the wiring is about.... From someone who does a bit of wiring there is a lot wrong with switch installation, looks like a butcher job by some one that tried many different thing till he got some sort of success....

Once you find the parasitic drain and correct it you may want to keep disconnect switch... Simple solution would be to wire in small LED that lights when disconnect is in on position.....

 

[2515R Dude]

Turn the main switch on, lights on and everything on without starting the motor, then play with this toggle switch. You will see in which position it disconnects when something turns off. He probably disconnected only part of the circuits, not all of them, it is why you are able to start the motor.

 

[Williy]

Use a volt/ohm meter you can tell real quick which is on
or off then make the switch

willy

 

[2manyrocks]

Well, I'd want to be sure your 12v battery is fully charged enough to actuate the starter solenoid and/or use a known good jump battery.

 

[flyerdan]

It looks like a solenoid relay, like on an aircraft master switch or motorhome disconnect. I had a neighbor that had a MH with a latching relay for both coach and chassis, one of them was sticky and needed several cycles of the rocker switch to either get it to turn off or turn on, can't remember. Took it apart and cleaned everything up and it worked properly again. If you have one of those, without an annunciator light to show the status it could be remaining on and causing the drain. That would also be why it would start in either position.

 

[homedad]

I used a continuity tester on the toggle so now I know which direction is closed circuit and open circuit. I then hooked a 12v test lamp to the positive post on the battery and it lit when I touched every conductor on that disconnect whether I had the toggle open or closed. This seemed very confusing as when you switch the toggle it makes a very audible click at the disconnect yet there is power on both terminals all the time. This leads me to another question. I notice that without even having the key in the ignition the lights and turn signals as well as the (stupid) remote controlled quick attach levers operate. Is there anything wrong with having a physical disconnect at the battery? Like does it harm a computer or hour meter or anything to not always have power?

 

[dstig1]

Then I'd say the switch ain't switching! If you want that function, replace with new. Tractors are fairly simple for wiring, so I would not hesitate to track down the parasitic drain and fix it. Others in this thread have explained how to do that, quite well.

 

[garry1p]

When checking across the solenoid with a lamp from the positive side of the battery it will light on both sides of the solenoid and other places because you are providing ground to one side of your test lamp "through" things like the lights. Your test light needs to be on the negative post .

If you are checking for parasitic draw put the test light in series (in line)from the battery.

Remove the wire from the positive post, connect your test light to the positive post take the other wire of your test light and connect it to the wire you took off the battery.

positive post >---light---> wire removed from positive battery post.

With the key off light should be off, if on pull fuses until light goes off that is the circuit that is drawing current.

 

[homedad]

Thanks for all the help. I've run out of time and will have to do all of this sometime when this tractor comes back home. In the mean time I put a simple physical disconnect on the negative cable. I think the previous owner over-complicated this.

 

[homedad]

I dropped it at my other property and couldn't get it off the trailer because it wouldn't start. I couldn't jump it either. The battery was dead. I believe that it was not only the original battery but also has been completely drained so many times that it was time to replace it. My wonderful wife went and bought another and it started right up.